CRLN
by aphbels
Summary: There's more to the first-year class at Beacon Academy than teams RWBY and JNPR. Carran Lowell, Rosaria Belmonte, Lydia Laroche, and Nereus Asturias have been grouped together to form Team Cerulean, better known as Team CRLN.
1. Chapter 1- Arrival

**A/N: And I rise from the dead to write a completely self-indulgent RWBY fanfiction alongside my boyfriend.**

 **Short little disclaimer here- I haven't written OC driven fanfiction since I was about twelve, so bear with me if this turns into a giant trainwreck, okay?**

 _Team CRLN Character Appearances:_

Carran Lowell- A tall young man with pale skin, gray eyes, and short black hair. He wears a black bowler hat, a black vest, a tucked in white button up shirt, black pants, black combat boots, and a black knee-length coat. He occasionally wears a black cloak with a hood.

Rosaria Belmonte- A young woman of average height with chin length brown hair, tan skin, and brown eyes. She wears a tucked in white button up shirt, a red pleated skirt, brown combat boots, and a black trenchcoat.

Lydia Laroche- A young woman of average height with shoulder length curly brown hair, dark skin, and purple eyes. She wears a sleeveless purple dress, which is held up by a v-neck strap at the neck. The dress cuts off below the knee. She also wears a black, pirate style coat with silver buttons and black heel boots.

Nereus Asturias- A tall young man with short, curly brown hair. He also has blue-green eyes and tan skin. He wears a blue military style coat, a blue turtleneck, gray pants, and brown boots.

* * *

There were apparently multiple ways to get oneself placed upon an airship bound for Beacon Academy. Apparently, protecting a village outside the kingdom from a Grimm attack was one way to do it. However, it wasn't as if he could complain about the current situation. Being a hunter did happen to line up with his particular set of skills. He'd always been rather handy with a sword, for instance.

Carran took a moment to mark his page before looking up to observe his surroundings once again. As he suspected, not much had changed since his last glance upward. The brunette who had lent him the book he was currently reading was still seated to his right, completely absorbed with another novel. Towards the back, a blonde girl and a black haired girl were chattering, both practically on the verge of shouting as they conversed. There was also the other girl with the black coat, who was barely concealing her nerves. As it was, her shifting eyes easily gave her away. There was also the blond hovering by the trashcan and the brunet staring out the window, along with a half dozen other individuals that Carran was paying slight attention to.

"Do you like the book so far?"

Carran placed the voice immediately. It was the brunette again, the one with the black trenchcoat and the red skirt.

"Yeah. It's interesting." Which wasn't a lie. The book did interest him, which was why he hadn't immediately dropped it back into the girl's lap.

"What part are you at?" she asked, sounding genuinely curious.

He shrugged. "Just started. I'm only a few pages in."

"Ah." With that, she let the conversation drop, turning her head back down in favor of returning to her book. Carran waited for her to speak again, but she said nothing, only moving to turn a page.

Carran turned his attention back towards the general populace of the ship. The only thing that had changed was the news report, which had switched from a report about Roman Torchwick to a report on a Faunus protest. Trying to listen to the report immediately proved difficult once the brunet with the blue coat sat down next to him.

"So, do you always wear the suit?"

Carran resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "Yeah. It's comfortable."

"Isn't it hard to fight in though?" the brunet asked. "Aren't you worried about getting it dirty or something?"

"No and no," Carran responded. "Again, it's comfortable."

The brunet stared at him. "You're weird."

"Yes."

The brunet shook his head, a smile forming on his lips. He began to speak again, but was cut off by a soft whir from the screen, cutting off the Faunus report. A blonde woman appeared on the screen, with her hands behind her back. The brunette beside Carran looked up, marking her page as the blonde began to speak.

"Hello and welcome to Beacon," she said, in a tone that made Carran immediately suspect that the message had been recorded beforehand.

"Who's that?" The blonde by the window asked.

"My name is Glynda Goodwitch," the blonde on screen continued, as if she had never been interrupted.

"Oh."

"You are among a privileged few who have received the honor of being selected to attend this prestigious academy," Glynda continued. "Our world is experiencing an incredible time of peace and as future hunters and huntresses, it is your duty to uphold it. You have demonstrated the courage needed for such a task and now it is _our_ turn to provide you with the knowledge and the training to protect our world."

With that, her image faded offscreen, drawing murmurs of excitement from the crowd.

"Looks like we've arrived," the brunet beside Carran said, nodding towards the people crowded by the windows that were admiring the view. "You gonna go look?"

Carran shook his head.

The brunet shrugged, standing up to leave. "Fair enough. Nice to meet you, by the way. Maybe I'll see you on campus sometime?"

"Maybe."

The boy smiled and left, but doubled back a few seconds later, looking rather sheepish. "Uh, I didn't catch your name."

"Carran."

"Just Carran?" he asked, smirking slightly.

Carran resisted the urge to throw the book he was holding at the brunet. "Carran Lowell."

"Ah, okay. My name's Nereus Asturias."

Nereus waited for Carran to speak, but Carran only nodded in response.

"Well, cya around!" With that, Nereus left, moving back towards his spot by the windows, stumbling a bit as the ship angled itself downwards. Carran chuckled slightly before directing his attention back towards the brunette beside him, who was once again completely absorbed in her novel.

He placed the book she had lent him on top of the open one in her lap. "Here."

She looked up. "Huh?"

"We're landing," Carran replied, nodding towards the windows. "I don't think you want me to keep this."

It took another moment for his words to sink in before she responded. "Oh, right! You can hang onto it if you want," she said, looking a tad embarrassed. "Just give it back to me when you're done, okay?"

Carran shook his head. "It's fine. I'd rather not be responsible for someone else's belongings."

"Oh," the brunette responded, sounding more flustered than before. "I guess that makes sense."

"Yeah," Carran said, but his agreement proved to be unnecessary; the girl had become distracted by the blond with the armour racing past, looking rather green. She cringed as the boy began to retch into the trash can, and continued to look rather uncomfortable as the vomiting continued.

"Are you okay?" Carran asked.

"Yeah," the girl responded, the look persisting on her face.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah," she repeated, not sounding fine at all.

The ship continued to descend, drawing more people to the windows to admire the view. The brunette fell victim to the spell as well, averting her eyes away from Carran to gaze at the academy, which was quickly drawing into view.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" the brunette said, almost at a whisper.

Carran only nodded in response. There was no further conversation between them; the brunette's attention was diverted by Nereus introducing himself, prompting a conversation between them that lasted until they disembarked.

It wasn't until the brunette vanished into the crowd that Carran realized that he never learned her name.


	2. Chapter 2- The View From Beacon

Once she was away from the vomiting blond, Rosaria was finally able to fully appreciate the view.

With a dreamy sort of sigh, she set down her bag. Rosaria had never been one to become captivated by a higher vantage point, considering her semblance, but seeing the Kingdom of Vale spread out before her was more than enough to halt her in her tracks. From her position, she could see for miles in every direction, bringing the full majesty of the kingdom into view.

 _Vale's not so big after all…_ Rosaria thought. She was fully aware she was wrong; she was well aware how large her home kingdom was. Yet, as she looked out at her surroundings, it was hard not to see the kingdom as minuscule.

Naturally, an explosion sounded the moment her thoughts had fully drifted away from her, startling her back to reality. She immediately reached for her weapon, but stopped herself short once her eyes found the source of the explosion- two girls she recognized from the airship ride. They appeared to be some sort of argument, one that Rosaria was much too far away to hear. That wasn't the only disturbance- it seemed like her classmates were all too eager to pick fights with each other.

With a reluctant sigh, she reached down to pick up her bag. The area was quickly filling up with a variety of other students; it would probably be in her best interest to remove herself before she accidentally got involved in some sort of fight.

Of course, that plan of action immediately failed. The moment she turned around, she immediately collided with another student, nearly sending both of them to the ground. Rosaria's semblance kicked in immediately, allowing her to regain her balance, but the other girl barely managed to avoid falling face first to the ground.

"Sorry!" Rosaria squeaked. "I didn't see you!"

To Rosaria's relief, the other girl just shook her head, tossing her curly orange locks as she did so. "Nah, don't worry about it. I wasn't paying attention either." She offered Rosaria a bright grin. "You okay?"

"Fine." Rosaria breathed, unable to stop herself from becoming immediately envious of the confident, beautiful girl in front of her.

 _She's going to end up the leader of a team._ Rosaria thought. The girl practically radiated confidence and self-assurance- what kind of professor would pass her up as a team leader?

"Well, seeing as we've literally just run into each other, how about introductions?" the girl asked, sticking out her hand for Rosaria to shake. "My name's Sienna Fairbairn. You?"

"Rosaria Belmonte," Rosaria replied, taking the outstretched hand. "Or just Ro, if you want."

"Ro," Sienna repeated. "I like it. So, what brings you to Beacon?"

Rosaria cocked her head, confused. "To become a Huntress, obviously."

"Well, yeah," Sienna replied. "But why Beacon? Why not Haven or something? There's three other schools you could have gone to. So, why Beacon?"

"I live in Vale," Rosaria replied, slightly embarrassed that she didn't have a more interesting response. "It seemed like the most rational choice."

"Oh." Sienna's face fell, but perked back up a moment later. "Well, to tell you the truth, my reason is just as boring. My family lives in Mistral, but my family's always attended Beacon, so this is where I got shipped off to. Can't complain much-" she shrugged "-since they're paying for everything."

"You live in Mistral?" Rosaria asked, surprised.

"Yeah," Sienna replied, affirming her words with a nod. "We moved there a few years ago."

"What's it like?" Rosaria asked, feeling another twinge of envy. Rosaria's family had never been much for travelling, which meant that Beacon was the farthest she had ever been away from home in her life. She could only dream of leaving Vale.

 _Although, I imagine we'll be doing some traveling as a part of our training._ Rosaria thought. The idea gave her a certain thrill.

"Well-" Sienna began, but she was immediately cut off by another shout. Behind Sienna, a girl in a purple dress had apparently tripped, scattering her luggage across the ground. A few paces away, a group of boys were staring and snickering. Sienna reached out to help the girl up, but the girl rejected the help in favor of scrambling up to grab her things, not making eye contact as she did so.

"Are you sure you're…" Sienna trailed off as the girl began walking away at a brisk pace, nearly to the point of breaking out into a run.

Sienna turned back to Rosaria. "Well, that was odd," she said, looking troubled by the whole exchange. "Do you think she's okay?"

Rosaria shook her head. "I doubt it."

Sienna turned her head again, casting a worried look towards the figure of the retreating girl. "I'm going after her," she said, more to herself than Rosaria. Without waiting for a response, Sienna went after the girl, without making any indication that she wanted Rosaria to follow, leaving Rosaria unsure as to what to do. Following could annoy Sienna, especially if she wanted to have a private conversation with the girl. Besides, did that girl really need another person chasing her down? Maybe-

There was a loud crash, followed by multiple voices beginning to cheer and shout.

 _Screw it, I'll annoy the pretty girl._ Without looking behind her to see what had caused the crash, Rosaria broke into a run after Sienna and the purple-clad girl, lightening her step as she went.


	3. Chapter 3- Happenstance

**A/N: Okay, the month long hiatus was completely unintentional. School and the weather has not been very cooperative towards my inclination to write. But here I am, and with a much longer chapter than usual! Enjoy!**

* * *

Not for the first time, Lydia began to question her decision to run away and attend Beacon. The fourth, unimportant child of the Laroche family certainly had no place attending a school that trained hunters and huntresses. She was hardly qualified for such a burden; she was just a foolish teenage girl with a head full of fantasies. It was much more likely that _she_ would become a burden.

Well, to be completely technical, it hadn't exactly been running away. Her family was well aware of her desire to become a huntress and had mostly left her to her own devices, allowing her to acquire the necessary education. However, they _had_ explicitly said that she would not be going away to any school, and certainly not Beacon Academy, all the way in Vale.

However, being unimportant also meant that Lydia's actions went mostly unnoticed. So, it was easy enough to send an application and stow away on a ship destined to Vale.

She still wasn't sure if her family would care about her disappearance or not. Still, it didn't stop the anxiety forming in the bottom of her stomach; the awful, gnawing fear that someone might recognize her and ship her back to Atlas. It was the reason she had purposely been avoiding interacting with her classmates, although that plan had apparently backfired on her.

Whipping around the corner, Lydia pressed herself against the wall, clutching her luggage as she tried to steady her breathing.

"Where did she go?"

"I don't know. Should we go back?"

"Yeah." The girl sounded resigned."Following a girl through the school is probably borderline stalking."

"I'm pretty sure it _is_ stalking, Sienna."

Their conversation faded as the girls made their way back down the hallway, their voices becoming distant.

Slowly, Lydia began to relax. She stepped away from the wall, careful to keep her movements quiet to avoid drawing any attention to her position.

Now that she was out of danger, she could actually take notice of her surroundings. Most of the doors appeared to be locked, but there was an opening towards the end of the hall. Making the quick decision to get out of the open, Lydia swiftly made her way towards the opening, silently hoping she wasn't going towards another hallway.

Thankfully, it wasn't. The opening was the entrance to a large room, although Lydia couldn't place its function. It also happened to be completely deserted.

With a sigh of relief, Lydia finally set her luggage down, wincing slightly. She hadn't realized until that moment just how incredibly sore her arms were. In fact, her entire body had been aching for days. Being on the run didn't exactly do wonders for one's physical well being.

Lydia shivered. Her sleeveless dress, while fashionable back in Atlas, did little to keep her warm. It also did little to make her inconspicuous. It had been foolish to take it, but it had also been one of the more plain things that she had owned. Still, it did little to conceal the fact that she came from a family that was at least decently wealthy.

After a moment's hesitation, she bent down to open her bag to pull out her coat, which had stretched the bag's fabric to its limits. It was a huge, bulky thing with black fabric and silver buttons. She had purchased it in an attempt to conceal her dress, only to realize that it only served to make her stand it out even more.

However, at the moment, no one was around. She pulled it on.

The coat was clearly secondhand, that much she could tell. It was worn and ragged in places, and it smelled distinctly of salt and the open air. She had fallen in love with it immediately. She had never owned a secondhand item in her life, but when everything that had been handed to her had been pristine and new, it was almost exciting to own something that hadn't been primed to perfection. Besides, it clashed horribly with her dress, which she found rather amusing. Her father would have been furious with her attire, but for once, he wasn't there to voice a complaint.

Now that the coat was on, she immediately felt more at ease. With it on, she felt protected and secure, a feeling she hadn't felt much since she fled the Laroche estate. She sighed in contentment, bending down to close her bag.

"Hey! Do you-"

Lydia immediately froze.

"-know where we're supposed to meet up with everyone? I think I got turned around."

Slowly, Lydia turned her head towards the room, silently hoping the voice was shouting to someone else in the hallway. No such luck. A vaguely familiar girl was standing in the doorway, her eyes flashing. And not only was she familiar, she was _gorgeous_. Her hair was long and curly, tumbling past her shoulders in a cascade of golden, curling waves. Her eyes were the color of the sky on a bright day, when the sky was clear and-

"Uh, you there?" The blonde girl was frowning.

"Yes," Lydia replied, a bit too quickly than what was proper. The situation was immediately made worse by the blush that spread across Lydia's face.

 _Focus! Where's your etiquette?_

The answer came to her immediately. Nonexistent. She had often skipped most of her lessons, especially the ones in etiquette. What would have been the point? She was never going to inherit, so what good would it have done her to drag herself to lesson after lesson?

The girl, who still looked incredibly familiar, didn't seem to notice Lydia's haste, nor her embarrassment. "Okay, cool. Anyway, do you know we're supposed to meet everyone?"

 _I've must have seen her in a magazine or something,_ Lydia thought, still trying to remember where she had seen the girl before. _She must be a model of some sort…_

Pulling herself away from her thoughts, Lydia attempted to compose herself, although the blush was still present on her cheeks. "No. I'm sorry," she replied, trying not to wince at how stiff she sounded. She was rapidly beginning to regret skipping out on the many social events her family had been invited to. It was painfully obvious that she wasn't used to talking to strangers.

"Oh." The girl seemed to deflate slightly. "Well, is it alright if I stay here? My sister went off with some other people and I don't want to wander around alone."

"You're not going to look for her?" Lydia asked.

The girl shook her head. "Nah, she'll be fine. People tend to like my sister."

Curiosity getting the best of her, Lydia asked another question, despite knowing full well that it was impolite to pry. "Why didn't you go with her?"

The girl shrugged. "We spend enough time together as it is. It wouldn't hurt for her to branch out a little, right?"

"I suppose."

The girl smiled. "You'll met her eventually. Trust me, you'll like her. Everyone does. She's super sweet. Anyway, wanna walk around? Standing here is boring."

Taken aback by the sudden switch in the topic, it took a moment for her to agree with a nod. The girl's face split into a wide smile. Immediately, the girl seized her hand, practically dragging Lydia out of the room before Lydia was able to form a word of protest. Once she did, the girl immediately turned a light shade of pink, dropping Lydia's hand and apologizing profusely before doubling back to grab Lydia's things, refusing to let Lydia help. Lydia agreed after a small bit of protest; her arms ached at the mere thought of hauling her luggage through the school again. All in all, she was perfectly content to follow the girl's lead as she walked through the school, quietly grateful that she wasn't alone.

The pair found their way to the room where the new first-years would be staying, with a light conversation bouncing between them. Upon arrival, they were greeted by a mostly empty room, its sole three inhabitants being a black-haired girl with a book in hand; a short girl with light blonde hair, almost to the point of it being white, that was apparently making some sort of blanket nest; and another girl, one with white hair and an expensive looking white dress. Lydia recognized the latter of the three, nearly freezing in her tracks the moment her eyes fell on the other girl. Time had changed the girl, but she was still recognizable as the heiress to the Schnee Dust Company.

 _That's Weiss Schnee._ Lydia thought numbly, feeling a sense of dread come about her. Lydia had seen her often back in Atlas, at the various social functions she had been forced to attend when she was younger. Her family was extremely wealthy and influential; the Schnee family controlled much of the dust production on Remnant. Her father had made it very clear that upsetting a Schnee was practically a guarantee of disaster.

To make matters worse, Weiss had made it clear in the past that she didn't think very highly of Lydia. Or at least, not back then.

Still, those interactions had taken place a number of years ago. It was entirely possible that Weiss had changed.

The blonde girl beside Lydia evidently didn't recognize Weiss, or she didn't care. Either way, she continued to move into the room, leaving Lydia with no choice but to follow.

"Hello Weiss," the blonde girl said conversationally, setting Lydia's things down in an open spot. "How was your ride over from Atlas?"

Lydia expected Weiss to make some sort of snarky remark, but Weiss was perfectly polite. "It was fine, I suppose. And yours?"

The blonde girl shrugged. "Same as yours."

Weiss looked around for a moment, her eyes searching for something unknown to Lydia. "Did you not travel with your sister?" she asked.

"Nah, I did. She went with some other people the moment we landed. I've just been hanging out with her." The blonde bumped Lydia with a playful nudge.

For the first time, Weiss took notice of Lydia, glancing her up and down, her expression unchanging. "I don't believe we've met," she said finally. "I'm Weiss Schnee."

"Lydia Laroche," Lydia replied, realizing too late that telling Weiss her full name may have not been the best idea. Still, Weiss didn't seem to recognize her, although, the giant pirate coat probably did wonders to hide Lydia's identity.

Weiss turned back to the blonde girl, Lydia's presence forgotten. "Before I forget- Melina, is your sister still trying to fight with that spear your parents gave her?"

The blonde, _Melina,_ laughed. "Of course she is. You know how Midge is. She's determined to master the stupid thing."

"She could at least upgrade to a more recent design."

Melina shrugged. "The fact that it's a family heirloom is important to her for some reason. She's determined to use it in it's original form."

"Is that why she refuses to modify it?"

"Mhm."

Weiss sighed. "Well, her logic is fair. Still, I'm worried that she's going to get herself seriously injured. She's not the greatest of fighters, you know."

Melina shrugged again, suddenly seeming tense. "She's working on it. Besides, her semblance helps a lot."

"It's also not entirely reliable."

"She'll be fine, Weiss," Melina said, her tone suddenly sharp. Weiss made no comment on the change, but she took the hint to drop the subject.

"I suppose," Weiss conceded, still looking entirely unconvinced. "Speaking of fights, I'm surprised you're not out there fighting with the rest of our classmates. I'd thought you'd jump at the chance to swing around that ridiculous weapon of yours around."

"Okay, first of all, my chainsword is wonderful," Melina replied, sounding quite indignant. "If you want to see ridiculous, you should check out the girl that's carrying around that giant scythe."

Weiss grimaced, but said nothing.

Melina continued, apparently not noticing Weiss' expression. "Secondly, what are you talking about?"

"A couple of students started sparring outside." Weiss replied. "They're making quite a commotion. I'm surprised-"

"In the courtyard, right?" Melina asked suddenly, completely interrupting Weiss.

"Yes."

Melina turned to Lydia, a sudden, mischievous gleam in her blue eyes. "Well, want to accompany me to the courtyard?" she asked, a smile spreading across her lips. "I think I've got something for us to do."

Lydia nodded. There wasn't really another option; the last thing she wanted to do was be left with Weiss. Besides, Melina was awfully pretty and nice enough to her, which made her a rather decent companion.

"Excellent. We'll see you later, Weiss." Melina took Lydia's hand again, apparently without thinking, leading her towards the door as Weiss voiced her own farewell.

Melina waited until they were out of the room before she spoke again. "So, what did you think of the Ice Queen?"

Lydia shrugged, deciding not to comment on the nickname. She was more focused on their joined hands. "She's nice."

"Yeah, she's not too bad," Melina agreed. "A bit of a priss, but she's nice enough. My sister likes her a lot. We all used to spar together back in Atlas when we were younger."

"Are you three all friends, then?"

Melina smiled, shaking her head. "Nah. Weiss just finds us tolerable. I don't think she does the whole 'friends' thing."

Lydia nodded, another question formulating in her mind. "Can I ask you something?"

"Shoot."

"What do you mean by a chainsword?"

"My weapon?" Melina asked. "It's a chainsaw and a sword combined. It's really cool. I'll show you it once we get to the courtyard."

"It sounds a bit ridiculous." Lydia said, without thinking.

Thankfully, Melina didn't take offense. Rather, a wicked gleam came to her eye. "Oh, trust me. It is."


End file.
